Oak Ridge Today

Constitution Day lecture on immigration law at Roane State on Tuesday

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Karla McKanders

Karla McKanders

University of Tennessee College of Law professor Karla McKanders will discuss immigration law on Constitution Day on Tuesday at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge Campus.

The lecture will be held from 1–2:30 p.m. in the City Room. The event is free, and the public is invited.

McKanders’ research focuses on civil rights, immigration and asylum law, and policy. She has explored the constitutionality of recent state and local laws targeting immigrants and the legal connections between past discriminatory laws and current anti-immigrant legislation. [Read more…]

UT professor helps discover near-Earth asteroid really a comet

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Don Quixote Orbit

This image displays Don Quixote’s orbit. (Image courtesy University of Tennessee)

KNOXVILLE—Some things are not always what they seem—even in space. For 30 years, scientists believed a large near-Earth object was an asteroid. Now, an international team including Joshua Emery, assistant professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, has discovered it is actually a comet.

Called 3552 Don Quixote, the body is the third largest near-Earth object—mostly rocky bodies, or asteroids, that orbit the sun in the vicinity of Earth. About 5 percent of near-Earth objects are thought to be “dead” comets that have shed all the water and carbon dioxide in the form of ice that give them their coma—a cloud surrounding the comet nucleus—and tail. [Read more…]

Local graduate receives B&W four-year scholarship

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Sheri Cunningham and B&W Scholarship

Deputy General Manager of Operations Dave Richardson, left, meets Bearden High School graduate Sheri Cunningham, center, at Y-12’s New Hope Center to congratulate her on her receipt of a Babcock and Wilcox scholarship. Cunningham is the daughter of B&W Y-12 engineer Penny Cunningham, right. (Photo courtesy B&W Y-12)

Babcock and Wilcox recently announced the winners of the 2013 B&W Scholarship, and one recipient is the daughter of an engineer at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Sheri Cunningham is a Bearden High School graduate and the daughter of B&W Y-12 engineer Penny Cunningham. She will receive $1,500 per year for up to four years of college-level study. [Read more…]

Roane State’s online biology courses earn national recognition

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Roane State Community College’s online biology courses have been named among the country’s best by BestOnlineColleges.org.

According to information on BestOnlineColleges.org, the site’s 2013-14 listing of best online programs takes into account “student surveys, teacher surveys, expert analysis, cost, academic offerings, career services rankings, and availability.” [Read more…]

Street painting festival seeks artists, sponsors

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Alligator Teeth Street Painting Festival

A winning chalk painting at the 11th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival, held in October 2010 at the Oak Ridge branch campus of Roane State Community College. (Submitted photo)

Do you enjoy drawing upon your artistic skills as you sketch a face, animal, or scene? Then you might like “painting” pictures in chalk on a sidewalk.

You are invited to sign up as an artist for the 14th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival. This popular event will be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 (rain day on Sunday), on the sidewalks of the Oak Ridge Branch Campus of Roane State Community College. Artists may start their chalk paintings on Friday afternoon, Oct. 4.

The art must be completed at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, so it can be judged before 6 p.m., when artist awards will be announced. If you win a first prize or the People’s Choice Award, you will receive a $50 cash award as well as recognition. [Read more…]

UT names nuclear materials expert as 13th UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair

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Steve Zinkle

Steve Zinkle

KNOXVILLE—Steve Zinkle, an authority on the effect of radiation on materials in fission and fusion nuclear reactors, has been named the thirteenth University of Tennessee–Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair.

Zinkle will serve as Governor’s Chair for Nuclear Materials, based in the department of nuclear engineering at UT with a complementary appointment in materials science and engineering. He begins at UT on Oct. 1. [Read more…]

Roane State employees honored

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Casey Cobb

Casey Cobb

Lon Bird

Lon Bird

Roane State Community College faculty member Casey Cobb and staff members Lon Bird and Rebecca Calfee have been honored for their work.

Cobb, associate professor of history, received the 2013 Sarah Ellen Benroth Award for Outstanding Teaching. [Read more…]

Advanced Composites program ‘perfect fit’ for Roane State teacher

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Andy Pokelwaldt

Roane State’s Andy Pokelwaldt, right, works with instructor Josh Martin to set up a filament-winding machine used by students in the college’s composite materials courses. (Submitted photo)

As the leader of Roane State Community College’s Advanced Composites Employment accelerator, Andy Pokelwaldt can blend his experience as a military trainer, an educator, and a mentor.

“I enjoy teaching, and I understand what having skills in composite materials will mean in the marketplace,” Pokelwaldt said. “Learning about composite materials will make people more employable, and that’s what this job is all about.”

The ACE program, based at the Halcyon Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, provides three introductory courses in composite materials. People with two- or four-year degrees can take the courses at no cost because ACE is grant-funded. [Read more…]

Roane State to offer extended business hours starting Saturday

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Starting Saturday, Roane State Community College campuses will offer extended business hours to help students get ready for the fall semester.

Extended hours for the Roane County and Oak Ridge campuses will be: [Read more…]

Roane State Library hosting book sale Aug. 20-22

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Roane State Community College Harriman Campus

The main Roane State Community College campus in Harriman.

The Roane State Community College Library will host a used book sale on Aug. 20-22 at the Roane County campus in Harriman.

The library is selling fiction books that have been withdrawn from the collection. Proceeds will be used to purchase new fiction. To buy books, visit the library on the Roane County campus Aug. 20-22 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Visitors will find great books for $1, a press release said.

For more information, contact the library at (865) 882-4553 or visit www.roanestate.edu/library.

UT professors study dilemmas in sustaining red light camera programs

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Red Light Camera Study Table

This figure shows a list of measures and their effectiveness, safety impacts, and efficiency impacts. (Submitted image)

KNOXVILLE— It’s a common driving predicament: As you approach the intersection, the light is yellow. Do you hit the brakes or face a red light camera fine?

Some municipalities engineer their traffic signals to force drivers into this situation in an effort to generate revenue from the cameras.

Professors at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville have analyzed this issue to determine if traffic control measures intended to boost red light revenue—such as shortening yellow light time or increasing the speed limit on a street—compromise safety. [Read more…]

Roane State’s Gatton eager to show new side of manufacturing

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Bob Gatton of Roane State's National STEM Consortium

Roane State’s Bob Gatton explains a composite materials demonstration during an open house showcasing the college’s advanced manufacturing programs. (Submitted photo)

Bob Gatton wants to spread a simple but powerful message.

Manufacturing is not what it used to be.

“When you start talking about factories, people have this mental picture of being covered in soot,” Gatton said. “That’s just not true anymore. Most factories are clean and automated.”

As director of Roane State Community College’s National STEM Consortium Program, Gatton is in a position to train people for today’s high-tech manufacturing jobs. The college has developed two one-year certificate programs—mechatronics and composite materials—with funding from a $19.7 million grant awarded to the National STEM Consortium. [Read more…]